A Pair of Bronze Statuettes Depicting Venus, ca. 1790

Contact Kollenburg Antiquairs BV

Dealer

Kollenburg Antiquairs BV

Price

Price on request

Status

Available

Period

ca. 1790

Material

patinated bronze, gilt bronze, Bleu Turquin marble

Description

Two graceful female nudes sit with a dove in their hand. The dove, symbol of peace or love, is alive with the one lady, whereas the other one seems dead. Thus this pair represents love and lost love. The statuettes are designed after a model of the French sculptor Etienne Maurice Falconet (1716-1791). Falconet was famous for his mildly erotic female nudes that symbolized various kinds of love. A good example of this type of representation is ‘l’Amour menaçant’ in the Rijksmuseum. There are no bronzes known of Falconet himself, although literature of his time mentions that he had bronze copies made of his sculptures. He also had copies made in biscuit by the porcelain factory of Sèvres where he was director for a short period.

The Venus with the living dove is a copy of a marble statue by Falconet. The copy with the deceased dove is probably a pastiche by the bronze caster, using elements of the other statue. Close consideration of the two statuettes show elements that induces this theory.